An important requirement for a fiber optic gyro (FOG) is the ability to monitor its health status or accuracy for health diagnostics. For most navigation systems including FOGs, angle random walk (ARW) is a major contributor to navigation errors. ARW is measured in units of degrees per root unit time that directly affects angular rate calculations, independent from other types of error (e.g., scale factor or bias error).
ARW monitors can provide valuable information for health diagnostics. Current systems and methods utilized to monitor ARW indirectly only monitor parameters affecting ARW instead of actual ARW. These indirect ARW determinations can lead to additional support costs as well accuracy issues, including false alarms or false negatives. These systems also require a large number of parameter monitoring devices that negatively increase system size, weight, and power consumption.